A core teaching · reflective in mood · a little context helps
“Passing pleasure loses its power when its ending is seen.”
The pleasures born from contact with the senses are only sources of suffering. They have a beginning and an end, O Arjuna, and the wise do not delight in them.
The verse in reading order — each Sanskrit word with its meaning beneath. Tap a word to focus on it.
Read literallythese · indeed · born from contact · pleasures · sources of suffering · only · having beginning and end · O son of Kunti · not · in them · delights · the wise person
Pleasures that come from the senses do not last and often lead to suffering. A clear-minded person does not get absorbed in them.
Krishna speaks this verse, on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, in the chapter titled "Karma Sanyasa Yoga" (The Yoga of Renunciation).
Verse 22 sits in Chapter 5 of the Bhagavad Gita — Karma Sanyasa Yoga, "The Yoga of Renunciation". The chapter has 29 verses in total.
Every Sunday, a clerk buys lottery tickets for the rush of the draw, and each week ends flatter than the last. Krishna points out that such pleasures have a beginning and an end, and the wise do not build their happiness on them.
Did you like this verse?
Pleasures born of sense contact are wombs of sorrow, Krishna says, since they begin and end.
What this verse means
Pleasures that come from the senses do not last and often lead to suffering. A clear-minded person does not get absorbed in them.
Context & commentary
Krishna continues teaching Arjuna, frozen before the war, how to see clearly: sense-based pleasures are temporary, and their sweetness hides the suffering they bring. A steady mind stops chasing them.
What it looks like today
Every Sunday, a clerk buys lottery tickets for the rush of the draw, and each week ends flatter than the last. Krishna points out that such pleasures have a beginning and an end, and the wise do not build their happiness on them.
“You can enjoy life without being pulled around by every passing pleasure.”
Explore related themes: vairagya (51 verses), indriya (19 verses)